


a stolen memory

by no_reservations



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-22
Updated: 2014-05-22
Packaged: 2018-01-26 04:31:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1674794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/no_reservations/pseuds/no_reservations
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis is a collector. Of memories that is. The right ones fetch quite the price with the sensor crowd, even if slightly altered and enhanced. Because the best lies are still the ones based in reality.</p><p> </p><p>And he never had much of a problem with collecting before.</p><p>That is... until he met him. <i>Harry</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	a stolen memory

**Author's Note:**

> Loosely based on 'Innocent When You Dream' by Tom Waits.

 

He walked the streets, stumbling over cobblestones as he drew his jacket's collar up against the chill. The fog was coming in, dimming the lanterns' glow as he made his way.

 

It was amusing really, the farce of it all. If he didn't look up at the passing transpods he could almost believe it was real. That he was still on earth, in some little European village untouched by time. Trust humanity to start getting nostalgic for something they'd been so very eager to tear down in the first place. All in the righteous name of progress.

 

A figure was striding before him, tight pants and loose shoes, slinking on its way with a light sway. Drunk, or maybe not, these uneven streets sometimes made it hard to distinguish.

 

All the same, he looked like easy prey, and he was on him. The boy's slumped shoulders and ambling gate promised for a simple take.

 

Louis advanced, coming to stride beside him and giving him a grin. The boy ignored him, eyes straight ahead. Hmm, maybe this would take a little effort after all.

 

"Hey," he said, trying to get his attention. The boy continued to ignore him, and he caught sight of the headbuds in his ears.

 

He waved a hand before his face, and this at last got his attention. The boy looked back at him a bit startled, obviously tensed for those mid-walk encounters. Louis smirked to himself, for he was right. No knowing just what could come along to pick him off the streets.

 

His mark looked back at the road before him, striding on ready to disregard him once more, but the brief flash of his green eyes seemed to have edged themselves on Louis' mind. No, this was the one. He wouldn't let him go.

 

So he persisted, plastering on a friendly smile, trying to seem as approachable as possible. He waved his hand again, and the boy stopped this time, withdrawing the buds from his ears.

 

"Yeah?" he let out, his voice pleasantly low, which just thrilled Louis more. It was so incongruous with his slight demeanour.

 

"Sorry, but I'm kind of lost." He smirked at the boy, trying for poor tourist. The boy sighed but visible relaxed at this, obviously used to having to guide a traveler or two on their way. An easy way in, Louis silently congratulated himself.

 

"I'm trying to find this place, my friends, well acquaintances really, told me to meet them there," he continued on, glancing around like the buildings were threatening to close in on him at any moment.

 

"Yeah, and do you know a name?" the boy replied, looking a little annoyed.

 

This just wouldn't do. Louis steeled himself, trying to play it right. "I'm not sure... they didn't give much info. But they said it was right around here someplace. You don't happen to know a bar around here?" He bit his lip as he looked at the boy and readjusted the bag on his shoulder.

 

The boy studied his face, before glancing around the road. "Well... I know a place that's pretty popular. It's probably what they're talking 'bout..."

 

Jackpot. "Oh yeah? What way is it?" He looked around again, like the dark streets all looked the same to him.

 

"Uhmm... it's to the left, and across this little square and then there's a side-alley..."

 

Louis shot him a worried glance as he followed his gaze while trying to memorize the directions.

 

The boy sighed next to him, believing his confusion. "I guess... I guess I can show you the way."

 

"Seriously? That would be awesome! See I've only got this crappy payphone." He pulled out a palm-sized device and waved it around. "It's enough for emergency calls, but not enough to actually find your way."

 

 

Harry frowned to himself as he led the way, not sure how he'd been roped into this one. He'd been on his way to his flat, with visions of his comfy bed leading the way. Not like he had anything going on tomorrow, seeing as it was weekend after all, but showing some stranger to a bar wasn't really on his plan either.

 

But something about the boy had him warming up to him immediately. He seemed so lost, and so open. Just another tourist out for the night, and hey, he wasn't that bad looking either, he had to concede. Walking beside him as the boy filled the silence with easy banter, he felt himself relaxing in his presence. He was telling him of all the sights he'd seen while he'd been in town, and Harry found himself slipping into vacation mode without even meaning to.

 

"So, then I was trying to get into this club right? And I'd read of it on a guide page, saying how this was the hottest club ever, and I was standing in line for close to forty minutes, and then I got to the front of the line, and the bouncer was like this posh dude, and he was stuffing a banana into his mouth, I kid you not, and he looked me up and down and was just like – No." Louis, as he'd learned, was animatedly telling him. "And I didn't know what to do, I mean, he'd let in everyone before me, no matter what they were wearing, but suddenly when he got to me, he decided no. I wanted to punch that fucker in the face, seriously! But what could I do? So I slunk off, after waiting forever in the cold, with my tail between my legs."

 

Harry had to let out a laugh, knowing the feeling all too well. It was the reason why he rarely bothered these days. Sure the city was buzzing around him, but those long nights out always ended in disappointment. Long nights, long tabs, and long hangovers.

 

They strolled down the street together, in pleasant company, the glow of the antique streetlamps lighting their way. Harry had to smile to himself. It was odd, but it felt like he'd known Louis forever.

 

They reached the bar, and Harry pulled up as the sandy haired lad scanned the patrons. He was ready to say his goodbyes when Louis stopped him with a hand on his upper arm. "I don't see them. Can you hold on while I give them a ring?" Harry only nodded, not sure why he was so reluctant to leave.

 

So he stayed, watching while Louis punched the keys on his relic of a phone. And he glanced around at the scene, looking on as a boy brought out a tray of shots to a table that cheered their arrival. They hoisted up their glasses, clinking them together while trying not to splash the contents, laughing as they downed them in one go. And Harry found a vicarious smile on his lips. He had missed this. Come to think of it, he couldn't even remember the last time he'd been out.

 

He looked back at his stranger friend Louis who was just putting away his phone and looking a little down. "So?" he ventured.

 

"No reply," Louis said a little forlornly as he glance at him before taking in the bar's revelry.

 

"Well, since we're here, why don't we get a drink?" he found himself offering, and Louis' face lit up at the suggestion. And Harry tried to suppress the feeling that reaction caused inside of him.

 

So they made their way inside, ordering long drinks and a few shots just for good measure, since the line was long and drinks were cheap.

 

Settling back outside, Harry held up the first shot, waiting to clink it. Louis did so as well, going to down it. "Wait!" Harry called out. Louis stopped in mid chuck. "You have to make eye contact while you clink, otherwise it's bad luck. 7 years bad sex and whatnot."

 

Louis chocked on the first sip he'd already taken, wiping his mouth hurriedly while holding out his glass again. "Wouldn't want that." They knocked glasses again, eyes locked this time. "If I follow it with a kiss, would that take away the year I probably just botched with that sip?" Louis asked as he continued to look him earnestly in the eyes.

 

Harry couldn't help the grin that tugged on his lips as he downed his glass. He came to raise another, clinking it again to Louis', and downed it before replying, "Guess we'll see."

 

He ran the tip of his shot glass along his lip while he stared at the boy. It was pretty forward of him, but something about Louis just made him feel so at ease. Like he'd been waiting his entire life, just for this.

 

Louis gently reached for the shot glass in his hand, pulling it out of the way as he slowly closed in. Harry shut his eyes in anticipation. The bar's patrons continued to party around them, but the loud clinking of glasses and boisterous drunken laughter seemed to go on mute as soft lips brushed his.

 

Another smile was tugging on his lips at the feeling – it had been way too long. And an absurd flutter of excitement seemed to burst forth in his stomach. Yep, definitely too long.

 

Harry did his best not to let out a stupid giggle as their lips brushed, but his insides were ready to spring about in a jig, probably with flailing jazz hands. Finally, finally. He hadn't know until this moment how much he'd missed it.

 

They kissed for another sweet little while, before letting up to down another shot, smirking at each other. Harry pulled back, his nervous hands reaching in his coat to pull out his kit. He glanced at the boy, not sure how he'd react. It was common around here, but most foreigners seemed to have a problem with it, even with the health risks all but filtered out.

 

"Mind if I roll one?" he asked, a bit uncertain.

 

"Sure," was the calm reply as the boy reached for his long drink. And Harry relaxed a bit.

 

He went about rolling it, halfway through when the boy stopped him. "Mind rolling me one too?"

 

Harry smirked down as he sealed the cig and handed it over, before rolling another of his own.

 

He reached over to light it for the boy, before lighting his. They share a smile, before clinking glasses again. The city buzzed around them, the streets alive, and there they sat on the side of the walkway taking leisurely tokes of their cigarettes, and it was all kinds of perfect.

 

 

They walked back together, a little buzzed. They'd talked of everything and nothing, but at the end of the night Harry was still not sure where the boy was actually from or what he did. Or even where he was staying for that matter.

 

"So, where're you off to?" he finally ventured out as they stood waiting for the light to change while munching on some late-night fastfood. It always did tend to taste the best after a few drinks.

 

"Uhmm... " Louis mumbled around his wrap. "Here and there... there are some hostels I can stay at. I just have to find the address."

 

Harry looked at him, a little thrown by his nonchalance. It was late, pretty late in fact, and most of the public transportation was shut down at this hour. He'd have a hell of a time getting anywhere.

 

"Well, not to be a downer, but you're kind of screwed," he told him bluntly around a bite of his roll.

 

Louis only raised his eyes at this, wiping the sauce off his face.

 

"Most of the lines are out right now. At best you could try to catch a nightpod. Or grab a taxi." He motioned over as one zoomed by, catching Louis' troubled expression as he did so. "I know, they're wicked expensive."

 

Louis took another bite of his wrap as they continued on their way.

 

Harry didn't know what made him say it, but somehow it just felt right. "Or you could crash at my place. I've got a free sofa. As long as you promise not to murder me in the night of course."

 

He was met with a cheeky grin, and an arm thrown over his shoulders.

 

"Oh Hazza, I thought you'd never asked."

 

Harry didn't try to hide the grin as they made their way back to his place, picking up another round of drinks from a corner store for the road.

 

 

Louis had to center himself as he entered the cozy flat. For some reason it wasn't as easy this time. He knew what he needed to do, he'd done it many times before after all. But as the curly headed boy shot him back a shy smile over his shoulder, he almost felt the smile sliding off his face. He caught it just in time.

 

"Drink?" the boy asked him, Harry, and he nodded, mask back in place. The boy never noticed.

 

Harry offered him the glass with a smile, and they sat down on his bed, the flat offering little else in ways of seating.

 

"It's quite small I know," the boy apologized in the form of a laugh, as they sat side by side on his bed. Louis had to smirk around his drink.

 

"No worried mate," he let out. "I'm just glad I don't have to sleep on the streets tonight." He shot him a grin and looked him in the eyes.

 

Harry felt a flutter go through him at his gaze, his proximity. He wasn't usually like this. Hell, he was never like this. Inviting a stranger up to his place, letting him sit on his bed, offering to share his sleeping quarters. If just for a night.

 

But something about Louis made him feel safe. Like he was just a regular kid, looking for a place to stay while he tried to make his way in the world. He knew the feeling all too well. And maybe, somewhere in his deepest fantasies, he'd longed for a moment just like this. A random encounter. A night of something that led to more... Harry drowned his thoughts in his glass, hoping the pervy avenues they were taking wouldn't betray him.

 

Louis continued to hide his smirk in his drink, being able to read the boy's blush all too easily. But that creatures like him still existed was almost beyond him. So pure, so innocent, it warmed something inside of him he'd almost forgotten.

 

"So, where can I sleep? Where is that couch? Or is there a space on the floor?" He looked around innocently, never mind that the room barely could fit a bed.

 

The boy looked up a bit flustered. "Well, uhmm... the sofa is kind of small... " He motioned to something that could have once been described as such, if it wasn't currently being drowned by random bits of clothes and various odds and ends. "I guess we could share the bed?"

 

Louis looked up in feigned surprise. "What? No, I mean... I'm fine with the floor really. I don't mean to... I mean... unless it's okay with you?"

 

The boy's blush deepened, looking everywhere but at him. Louis almost wanted to laugh.

 

"Uhmm, no. I mean, like, it's no problem. I mean, if you don't mind?"

 

"No of course not." Louis set his drink down, looking back at Harry.

 

The lad met his eyes shyly, before nodding and downing the rest of his beverage. "I'm... I'm just going to get ready then. There're pj's in the closet." He nodded towards it before standing up and all but dashing out the door.

 

Louis quietly chuckled to himself as he rid himself of his clothing, leaving him in just his underwear. Snuggling under the blankets, he sighed into the soft pillow as he waited for Harry to return. He'd almost dozed off when the bed shook, and he raised his eyes to find anxious green ones staring back at him.

 

"Guess it's my turn?" he let out with a yawn, before getting off the mattress. Entering the small bathroom, he pulled his toothbrush out of his kit, followed by a few other essentials. Surveying the contents of the boy's bathroom while he brushed, he couldn't help but laugh at the contents. A toothbrush, razor, soap. Bare essentials in all, not even some noteworthy narcotics hidden in his drawers.

 

Louis spit out the toothpaste as he rubbed his face down with his special face wash. No way he was touching the boy's cheap soap. He'd probably break out in hives.

 

Finishing with a toner and three types of moisturizer – his eyes, face, and lips deserved distinctive attention after all – he made his way back to the bedroom.

 

Harry was wrapped up in a nest of blankets, looking like an adorable kitten curled up in a tight ball. He almost thought the boy had gone to sleep already, but as he climbed up on the bed he stirred.

 

"Hey," came that deep drawl. It sent something down Louis' front, straight to his groin.

 

"Hey," he replied, pulling back the covers.

 

The boy rolled over towards him, his eyes clear in the dim light of the bedroom.

 

Louis blinked back at him, suddenly feeling at a loss. Harry was most disarming.

 

"You know, I don't usually do this, but something about... " the boy let it hang in the air, and Louis stared back at him.

 

"I don't either," he heard the words slip past his lips without meaning them to. It should have been an easy lie, but somehow it felt true.

 

Harry's eyes crinkled, believing him for whatever reason. Louis felt his eyes widened, taken in by his gaze. He suddenly longed to run a hand through his wayward curls, and along his dimpled cheek, along those puckered lips.

 

He blinked, knowing the want in his eyes was not forced.

 

The boy just continued to look back at him, growing quiet.

 

And Louis continue to stare, overcome by the moment.

 

"Can I... can I kiss you again?" he finally let out, when the moment had become unbearable. "Just a kiss. Nothing more," he added, hoping to make it less creepy.

 

The boy just blinked slowly, head rested on his pillow as he looked at him.

 

Louis stared at him, safely on the other side while uncertainty churned in his gut. Had he just screwed it all up?

 

But after what seemed like a small eternity the boy finally let out a soft sigh and nodded.

 

Louis looked at him for a moment longer, before slowly scooting closer.

 

He breathed in deeply as he reached him, catching his scent, the one of boy and sweet musk, skin, and... something else, amidst the smell of clean sheets and cotton. He opened his eyes, finding Harry only a breath away from him.

 

He smirked as he leaned up to him, still half-covered in his sheets.

 

Harry smiled back down, before moving closer a bit hesitantly.

 

It was a soft press, nothing to make the romance pages. But it was enough. It was everything.

 

Louis felt the flutter go through him again as their lips connected. It was wrong, but at this moment it felt right, like nothing else mattered. Before his mind could catch up to what he was doing, he forced himself to relax into it. And as his lips slowly slid against the boy's he couldn't deny it. It tingled, all the way down. And he wasn't sure he'd ever felt its like before from just a simple kiss.

 

He blinked open his eyes, knowing he couldn't hide the full extent of his astonishment from the boy. But the look that met him had no such restraints, and Louis felt a little overwhelmed. So he felt it too?

 

They continued to gently kiss, reveling in the pleasant tingles, and the easy slip and slide of their lips. Louis hummed at the sensation, and Harry sighed against him, pressing in.

 

Kissing quickly led to more, and before Louis was fully aware of it he'd kicked the blankets aside and was making quick work of relieving the boy of his underwear. Shit, some distant voice seemed to curse at him. This isn't... but he quickly shut it off again, too alive in this moment. The feel of his skin, the way the boy reacted to ever little caress, every little stroke of his fingers. It was everything.

 

Slitted eyes met his, crinkled in approval and bliss as he glanced up, before continuing on with his work. Glancing over the boy's abs with his lips, stroking his sides, running a gentle hand up his thighs. Teasing and stroking, Louis found himself reveling more in the boy's reactions than caring for his own pleasure. He wanted to drown in him, please him in any way he knew how. Make him... fuck.

 

He hid his face against the boy's hip as the realization struck him. Harry let out a laugh, his hair probably tickling sensitive areas. But Louis was a second away from bursting from the room and calling this whole thing off. It had been a mistake. He was slipping.

 

But no, he had to see this through. For better or worse.

 

So he continued, running a deft hand down to the boy's cock, and watched in wonder at how he all but writhed on the bed beneath him, letting out soft keens and mewls as he gripped at the sheets around him. All because Louis was jerking him off, however ineptly.

 

With boy's cock heavy in his hands, flushed and throbbing beneath his grip – it felt wondrous. All the more so because of who it belonged to. Stiff, but the skin still so silky underneath his fingers. Harry opened his eyes again, with his lips parting to a gasp, and Louis couldn't help but lean in again for another kiss.

 

Harry moaned into his mouth as he continued to stroke him, not thinking of anything but giving the boy pleasure. But then a hand sneaked its way down to his briefs, quickly seeking out his member in turn. He had to let up to a broken pant at the feeling, not having realized how hard he'd gotten while otherwise occupied.

 

"Lou," the boy whispered at him, and he tried to focus past the hand pumping his cock. "I... I don't usually do this. But there's something... something about you..."

 

Louis tried to withhold a groan at this, wondering how the boy was still so coherent considering what they were doing. He sped up his hand, spreading precome along the shaft in his fist, earning a buck up as he slid down and twisted.

 

Harry just kept looking at him as they continued, something flickering in his eyes that Louis didn't want to name. But there it was. What? Adoration? Admiration? Lust? Love?

 

Louis decided to kiss at his neck instead and save himself the heartbreak.

 

 

Dawn came, all too early. Louis stirred from his pleasant slumber, finding himself nestled and entwined with boy. He drew back slowly, trying not to wake his... well, the boy. Sighing to himself, he knew what needed to be done. He'd done it a thousand times before after all. But why did it feel so hard this time?

 

Withdrawing the locket, he placed it on the lad's chest before he could think further. A few touches and it was activated, Harry's eyes flickering behind his eyelids as it began its drain.

 

Louis watched, trying remain impassive, like a surgeon operating on a family member. It was all the same organs, all the same movements, why should this time be any different? But somehow it was.

 

He waited as the device selected the optimum memories, the smile on the boy's lips letting him know they were good ones. He'd never been on the receiving end of a memory swipe, but he gathered it was something like an incredibly vivid dream. One that could then never be had again.

 

The locket spun and hummed, letting him know it was charged up. It was bound to get him a good payout, seeing the way the device was glowing at him. Sunny adolescence and bumbling eager first-times – the sensor crowd just ate that shit up.

 

And just one more memory to go. His fingers shook a little as he went to activate the command, not sure why this was affecting him so much.

 

Standard procedure after all, take it away. And then delete yourself.

 

Louis stared down at the boy sleeping so peacefully beside him. His curls were spread out like a messy halo around him, a smile still on his lips. A hand was curled up to his cheek, clutching at his pillow. He looked so innocent while he slept. And it tore at Louis' heart.

 

"Harry, I think... I think I might..." he whispered out, not sure why he felt the need to voice it, so he didn't. He sat back as he watched a smile grow on the sleeping boy's face all the same.

 

Something seemed to be pressing on his throat and he tried to swallow around it. His vision was oddly blurry as he reached down to activate the device for the final step.

 

 

Dawn was breaking as he slipped back out on the streets, the chill in the air somehow worse than last night. He pulled his collar up again and shoved his hands in his pockets as he braced against it. His hand came to clutch at the locket, still warm against his skin.

 

The early morning light was beautiful as it bathed the quaint streets, the light coat of rainfall making them shimmer like a movie set – but the boy didn't notice.

 

For his eyes were cast down, watching his feet stumble over broken cobblestones as he made his way.

 


End file.
